narrow boat width and possible restrictions

[alan_fincher]

1 hour ago, dmr said:

I believe Napton is now fixed, or at least improved, and Hurleston is getting done this winter, though I believe two locks are difficult and maybe only one is getting rebuilt????

That leaves Huddersfield and the Stratford as the big issues, though there are likely several others.

 

The South Stratford is a nice canal leading down to the Avon.

 

The Huddersfield Narrow is still a bit "extreme boating" so might not be a part of the OPs plans.

 

In the slightly longer term the canal system is getting older and other locks, like the Marple flight, might well become troublesome at some stage.

 

6 foot ten, seventy foot, and 24 inches draft is a better long term investment.

 

...................Dave

See above.

Bosley lock 8 measures exactly 7' 0.5" across the coping stones over a considerable distance towards its bottom end.

 

Even locks on the Rochdale, (supposedly a broad canal) caused us to get severely stuck with a 7' 1" beam.  They are only broad locks if you can move both gates.  If a gate can't be shifted at all, even with a gang of "heavies" and a Spanish windlass, then a "wider than usual" boat still has major difficulties.

 

There have been several other recently reported issues with boats of this kind of width, including both on the T&M, and even (from memory) Chelmondosten on the Shroppie Middlewich branch.

Don't underestimate the problems, (which genuinely seem to be increasing).

[David Mack]

24 minutes ago, alan_fincher said:

See above.

Bosley lock 8 measures exactly 7' 0.5" across the coping stones over a considerable distance towards its bottom end.

 

Even locks on the Rochdale, (supposedly a broad canal) caused us to get severely stuck with a 7' 1" beam.  They are only broad locks if you can move both gates.  If a gate can't be shifted at all, even with a gang of "heavies" and a Spanish windlass, then a "wider than usual" boat still has major difficulties.

 

There have been several other recently reported issues with boats of this kind of width, including both on the T&M, and even (from memory) Chelmondosten on the Shroppie Middlewich branch.

Don't underestimate the problems, (which genuinely seem to be increasing).

 

Belfast must be a bit slimmer than the nominal 7 ft 1in, since over this year it has travelled through Bosley, the full length of the T&M and the Middlewich Branch without getting stuck for width, and on the Rochdale we scraped through past the fixed gate, rather than needing any winching.

[ditchcrawler]

A photo nicked from Facebook tonight but was taken 8 years ago of a slightly fat boat

Edited October 10, 2019 by ditchcrawler

[Jonny P]

10 hours ago, David Mack said:

 

Belfast must be a bit slimmer than the nominal 7 ft 1in, since over this year it has travelled through Bosley, the full length of the T&M and the Middlewich Branch without getting stuck for width, and on the Rochdale we scraped through past the fixed gate, rather than needing any winching.

Or maybe it just hasn’t spread. It’s logical that the problem when some boats get stuck but others don’t that the boat is at least partially to blame.

 

Old locks move inward and old boats move outward. That’s just the nature of the beasts.

As for the OP’s boat the responses largely make an assumption that the boat has spread and can be pulled in. However it could be an old day boat conversion or even a historic that was always on the wide side of 7’. It would be useful to know it’s provenance.

 

JP

[Jen-in-Wellies]

15 hours ago, Mike the Boilerman said:

 

Yes. The locks may all the getting slowly narrower, but at least they aren't all getting slowly shorter!

 

It is due to continental drift. In the 200+ years since they were built the canals have been stretched out, which makes the locks narrower across the width. ?

[David Schweizer]

On 10/10/2019 at 09:53, galaxy273 said:

In the process of buying a narrow boay. Pre-purchase survey has identified that she is wider than the builder paperwork and seller particulars.  measured at 7'1" rather than the 6'10".

New to canal boating, my quick checks on CRT website indicate that this may be problem on 'narrow' canals. I was intending to cruise the network and move from Stafford area to London for rennovation works   .....     Interested in views on whether I need to look for an actual 6'10'" wide boat or whether I'll be Ok at 7'1"   thanks 

My first reaction would be to ask how the measurement was taken, and have it checked. Unless it was built more than forty years ago, I doubt that it would be over 7ft wide. Our old boat was built in 1982 and was a tad over 7ft wide over the top guard irons. We travelled fairly widely and the only place which we could not negotiate was the entarnce lock onto the Llangollen.

[OldGoat]

Methinks that with the current (and most likely future) reductions in maintenance by CRT, more locks will suffer movement in their walls either by general land conditions or by general poor practice / use by boats using the system.

A couple of years ago we helped a 'proper' boat through one of the locks on the Napton flight which invloved a lot of thrashing around and flushing water down.

Whereas it got the boat through, I wonder (not) whether the effort would create problems that wouldn't be aparrent until much later.

In the bad lod days there would have been a lengthsman who knew his patch and would spot difficulties as they arose - fixing them before they became an 'issue'. Now it's more of recording the problem (if spotted) and getting some office bod to schedule a repair, or mebe ignoring it, until  major failure occurs.

 

My point in this case is - don't chance fate, knowing that your boat is over wide - then finding out that you've got stuck and need draconian efforts to release you, which will cause problems for everyone else until the underlying  fault is rectified.

 

CRT have cut back on maintenance - possibly - resulting in major unplanned closures as time passes...

 

 

 

[rusty69]

You think you have problems. I bet the captain of this ship was wearing brown underpants.

 

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-7563541/Biggest-cruise-ship-squeeze-Corinth-Canal-Greece-makes-just-3ft-spare.html

[MtB]

 

And not a side fender in sight.

 

Curious to note a full length narrow boat would fit through there sideways.....

 

 

[Jen-in-Wellies]

37 minutes ago, rusty69 said:

You think you have problems. I bet the captain of this ship was wearing brown underpants.

 

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-7563541/Biggest-cruise-ship-squeeze-Corinth-Canal-Greece-makes-just-3ft-spare.html

Always the way. A big crowd of gongoozlers watching when you are trying to do a tricky bit of boat handling. ?

[rusty69]

16 minutes ago, Mike the Boilerman said:

 

And not a side fender in sight.

 

Curious to note a full length narrow boat would fit through there sideways.....

 

 

I fink @Dr Bob went through sideways in his yot. 

 

It was 3ft narrower before he did so. 

Edited October 12, 2019 by rusty69

[rusty69]

21 minutes ago, Jen-in-Wellies said:

Always the way. A big crowd of gongoozlers watching when you are trying to do a tricky bit of boat handling. ?

Yeah but no but he had 3 ft each side. Get closer to the side, that's a whole 6ft.i could of got our narrowboat down the side of that. Besides, he had no side wind to deal with And got a tow! 

[MtB]

12 minutes ago, rusty69 said:

Yeah but no but he had 3 ft each side. Get closer to the side, that's a whole 6ft.i could of got our narrowboat down the side of that. Besides, he had no side wind to deal with And got a tow! 

 

Do you think he had a girlie button?

 

 

[Dr Bob]

3 hours ago, rusty69 said:

I fink @Dr Bob went through sideways in his yot. 

 

It was 3ft narrower before he did so. 

We went through twice in our yot......but pointy bit first.

Iirc, it's the most expensive canal in the world by length. £150 for half a mile. Cash only. No receipt. It was Greece after all.

[rusty69]

11 minutes ago, Dr Bob said:

We went through twice in our yot......but pointy bit first.

Iirc, it's the most expensive canal in the world by length. £150 for half a mile. Cash only. No receipt. It was Greece after all.

That sounds like good value for a 643ft boat carrying 1200 passengers. If you had carried 1200 passengers, you could have split the bill.The duck would have gone free, cos he already has a bill.

Edited October 12, 2019 by rusty69

[Dr Bob]

12 minutes ago, rusty69 said:

That sounds like good value for a 643ft boat carrying 1200 passengers. If you had carried 1200 passengers, you could have split the bill.The duck would have gone free, cos he already has a bill.

Naw, they'ed never let anything go through free. I never saw any ducks when we were sailing in Greece. Prolly 'cause that canal was too expensive for them.

[Jen-in-Wellies]

5 hours ago, rusty69 said:

You think you have problems. I bet the captain of this ship was wearing brown underpants.

 

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-7563541/Biggest-cruise-ship-squeeze-Corinth-Canal-Greece-makes-just-3ft-spare.html

That's steeper sides than the cuttings on the Shroppie. If the canal has a Shroppie shelf too it would be even harder than it looks in this picture.

[magpie patrick]

2 hours ago, Dr Bob said:

We went through twice in our yot......but pointy bit first.

Iirc, it's the most expensive canal in the world by length. £150 for half a mile. Cash only. No receipt. It was Greece after all.

Why did you only do one-eighth of the canal? And is it cheaper per mile to do the whole thing?

 

5 hours ago, rusty69 said:

Yeah but no but he had 3 ft each side. Get closer to the side, that's a whole 6ft.i could of got our narrowboat down the side of that. Besides, he had no side wind to deal with And got a tow! 

With 6 feet to spare  a cast-off shipping container would wedge him tight!

[ditchcrawler]

39 minutes ago, Jen-in-Wellies said:

That's steeper sides than the cuttings on the Shroppie. If the canal has a Shroppie shelf too it would be even harder than it looks in this picture.

But he is not going to meet anyone as he sent the first mate ahead with a mobile phone to check

[Jen-in-Wellies]

12 minutes ago, ditchcrawler said:

But he is not going to meet anyone as he sent the first mate ahead with a mobile phone to check

A good job too. Just imagine the blacking they'd lose trying to reverse out.

[rusty69]

1 hour ago, magpie patrick said:

Why did you only do one-eighth of the canal? And is it cheaper per mile to do the whole thing?

He couldn't afford to do the whole length.

1 hour ago, magpie patrick said:

With 6 feet to spare  a cast-off shipping container would wedge him tight!

Good point. That is why I am not a cruise ship captain.

[Dr Bob]

4 hours ago, rusty69 said:

He couldn't afford to do the whole length.

 

No, I always keep going to the end!

[Dr Bob]

6 hours ago, Jen-in-Wellies said:

That's steeper sides than the cuttings on the Shroppie. If the canal has a Shroppie shelf too it would be even harder than it looks in this picture.

It is a rather impressive canal to go through in a 40 ft yot. You have to radio them to allow passage. We were the only bote going through the both times we went and you were never quite sure they heard you properly and some 1500 passenger cruise liner was about to appear at the other end. The 2nd time we did it was on the way back from the Agean and there was a 4 ft swell running in to the entrance...where you have to park to go and pay. I wouldnt like to do it in a sewertube....or even a fat bote.

[rusty69]

1 minute ago, Dr Bob said:

It is a rather impressive canal to go through in a 40 ft yot.

I went there when I was 10. The coach stopped there on  the way to somewhere. All I remember,looking from the top was that it was a looooong way down, and it was blue, very very blue.

[koukouvagia]

The ancient Greeks had a simple method of crossing over to the Gulf of Corinth.  They simply built a causeway, put their triremes on log rollers and dragged them from one side to the other.  You can see still see the ancient trackway (the diolkos).

 

 Dr Bob could have saved himself 150 quid.